Background: There is an ongoing debate regarding what dietary pattern is the most effective for breast cancer prevention. Several studies have examined hypocaloric diets with an emphasis on various macronutrient compositions, yielding inconclusive data regarding their effects on weight loss and breast cancer risk reduction. This study examined the effects of a 1-year intervention of 2 calorie-restricted diets (low-fat or low-carbohydrate [LFD and LCD, respectively]), in combination with increased physical activity (PA), on circulating adipokine concentrations among premenopausal women at increased risk of developing breast cancer.

Methods: Seventy nine overweight/obese premenopausal women were randomized to a LFD or LCD with PA for 52 weeks. Serum adiponectin, leptin and the adiponectin to leptin ratio (A/L) were measured at baseline, and weeks 25 and 52. Linear mixed models, which included fixed effects of treatment arm, time, and a treatment-by-time interaction, were used to assess intervention effects on serum adipokine concentrations.

Results: Compared to baseline, at week 25, adiponectin decreased 4.1% and 2.3%, leptin decreased 30.0% and 35.3%, and the A/L ratio increased 10.5% and 19.4%, among LFD and LCD participants, respectively. Compared to baseline, at week 52, adiponectin decreased 8.5% and 5.0%, leptin decreased 23.0% and 19.7%, and the A/L ratio increased 23.7% and 44.4%, among LFD and LCD participants, respectively. No differences in adipokine changes by diet were observed. Notably, we observed favorable improvement of adipokine concentrations (adiponectin increased 4.4% and 9.5%, leptin decreased 13.0% and 30.1%, and the A/L ratio increased 21.0% and 52.6%, at weeks 25 and 52, respectively) among women who were adherent to the LCD.

Conclusion: These findings suggest that long-term caloric-restriction with increased PA can effectively modify the obesity-related adipokines and thus, may prove useful as cancer preventive strategies for premenopausal women. Future studies of larger samples are required to confirm the beneficial effects of these interventions among high-risk women.

Citation Format: Adana A.M. Llanos, Jessica L. Krok, Juan Peng, Michael L. Pennell, Susan E. Olivo-Marston, Mara Z. Vitolins, Cecilia R. Degraffinreid, Electra D. Paskett. Effects of low-fat and low-carbohydrate dietary patterns combined with physical activity on serum adipokine concentrations among premenopausal women: A randomized trial. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Twelfth Annual AACR International Conference on Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research; 2013 Oct 27-30; National Harbor, MD. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Can Prev Res 2013;6(11 Suppl): Abstract nr C45.

©2013 American Association for Cancer Research.
2013